All things South Asian: political, literary, revolutionary

Menu

Hypocrisy in Bangladesh

The Bangladeshi newspapers are reporting that 9 men have been arrested for being involved in a “criminal conspiracy” to instigate a riot in the textile manufacturing districts. The interviews with the men arrested make it seem as as though they are not in the union leadership, but they will clearly be scapegoated for much of the violence and be used as a pretext for cracking down on the other labor unions. The Rapid Action Battalion officials are already saying that they suspect “Some 10 to 15 workers’ organisations are being funded to instigate violence.” What is also clear is that the arrests that are being made now are for incredibly petty things, like stealing a pair of sunglasses, which means that this is one of the most incompetent raids of working class unions ever performed (not that I am in favor of competent raids against unions). And in typical fashion, the RAB is attempting to link the violence to the influence of “foreign elements” who are attempting to destabilize the all-important garment industry.

At the same time, if you look at the footage of the protests, it’s pretty clear that this is not being orchestrated by 9 sunglass thieves, but is genuinely a mass protest movement:

And what’s also clear is that the police have to be held accountable for the indiscriminate use of violence against the people involved in the protests (though there is no sign that this is in the works):

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Export Agency (BGMEA), the main organization of the textile industrialists, has asked for more police during Ramadan. The RAB has dutifully responded: they’ve already begun setting up new police stations (Savar-Ashulia, Narayanganj, Gazipur and Chittagong) to help them ensure the security of the textile manufacturing areas (though these will undoubtedly be used to spy on the work of the unions). That they are this worried seems to mean that we can expect another round of protests sooner rather than later. Meanwhile Home Minister Sahara Khatun lost no time in pinning the blame on the BNP and the Bangladeshi Jamaat-e-Islami.

Post navigation

2 thoughts on “Hypocrisy in Bangladesh”

I disagree with you. Not that i am completely sure that the law enforcement officers were correct all the time, they had video footage as evidences of vandalizing, breaking and torching vehicles, shops and destroying Govt property etc. Based on that evidence police can and should arrest those who are responsible. Peaceful protest is always a necessary right in a secular democratic country. But violence is not. While i believe the general RMG workers did protest peacefully, some people were violent and it is totally possible that evil intentions were behind this violence. I have written why some union leaders are interested in violent protest after the wage hike http://fuadhasan.posterous.com/garments-workers-violent-protest-over-new-wag

The “outside agitator” charges are so pitifully unoriginal that it would be laughable if not for so many people taking these sorts of charges seriously.

I remember a couple of decades ago when people in the African-American community in Corsicana, Texas, protested against police brutality against members of their community. Local authorities insisted that their city did not have any “racial problem” and blamed the protests against “outside agitators” . . . from Waco! Turns out there was a reporter from the Waco Tribune-Herald (about 40 miles away) in town to cover the story.

“New and more vicious ways of squeezing their employees”–does that ever sound depressingly familiar nowadays!